Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

by

James Weldon Johnson

A girl a few years older than the narrator, whom he accompanies during a concert and quickly falls in love with. After their resoundingly successful concert, she actually kisses him in excitement—but he pulls away, having apparently forgotten his feelings. She later marries and, according to the narrator, loses her musical talent.
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The Violinist Character Timeline in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

The timeline below shows where the character The Violinist appears in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Collective Progress and Individual Achievement Theme Icon
Music, Emotion, and American Culture Theme Icon
...day, he was “impetuous” about getting to his music teacher’s house to rehearse with a violinist he was set to accompany—although he has always hated accompaniment, since his “ideas of interpretation... (full context)
Collective Progress and Individual Achievement Theme Icon
Music, Emotion, and American Culture Theme Icon
Secrecy, Purity, and Origins Theme Icon
The violinist was “a girl of seventeen or eighteen” whose performances had “moved me to a degree... (full context)
Racism and the Color Line Theme Icon
Music, Emotion, and American Culture Theme Icon
Secrecy, Purity, and Origins Theme Icon
...the narrator felt a “pleasurable excitement” about being able to “be of service to [the violinist].” He got home but stopped in his tracks when he saw “a black derby hat”... (full context)
Chapter 3
Music, Emotion, and American Culture Theme Icon
...to respond with two encores,” and the narrator thought bowing on the stage with the violinist might be the greatest joy in life. In the dressing room, she hugged and kissed... (full context)
Music, Emotion, and American Culture Theme Icon
Secrecy, Purity, and Origins Theme Icon
The music teacher convinced the narrator to hold a benefit concert; the violinist, now married, played but was losing her talent. The narrator performed Beethoven’s “Sonata Pathétique” more... (full context)